


heart in your hand

by the_crownless_queen



Series: in every universe (I choose you) [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-05-25 09:59:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14974787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_crownless_queen/pseuds/the_crownless_queen
Summary: In which Fabian flirts through terrible pick-up lines.





	heart in your hand

_The Gryffin's Corner_  has been there for as long as Edgar can remember, but for some reason, he's never entered. The place looks welcoming though, painted in warm reds and golds, but it's also right across from the Starbucks Edgar's always been to.

Except that today, that Starbucks is closed, and from the way the words 'health violation' are being thrown around, Edgar rather doubts it'll open up again anytime soon.

So, mind still half asleep, he wanders into  _The Gryffin's Corner_  like two dozens of other sleep-deprived customers instead, letting the comforting aroma of warm coffee guide his feet forward to the counter.

He orders his usual drink, barely glancing up at the barista — not very polite, he knows, but law school is killing him, what with exams growing closer and closer — and he leaves, only keeping the imprint of red hair and a foxy grin burned into his mind.

It's not until he's drunk half of it that he notices the writing scribbled in black sharpie on the white cardboard.

On one side, there's his name,  _Egdar_ , written in an elegant cursive. And on the other, in slightly smaller letters, Edgar can read,  _You look ill. You must be suffering from a lack of Vitamin ME._

It's a terrible line, but it does put a smile on his face — at least until his first teacher gives them yet another assignment for next week and Edgar realizes he'll have to kiss sleep tonight goodbye. Again.

Well, at least he knows where to get good coffee now.

.

He forces himself to be a little more attentive the next morning, and sure enough, the barista's a redhead. He seems… different from what Edgar can recall of yesterday morning, but well, it's not like Edgar was  _awake_  yesterday.

He spends the queue shifting nervously on his feet, eyes wandering to the fan turning slowly above their heads — it gives the place a nostalgic kind of atmosphere that Edgar really likes.

Once he gets to the counter, he puts in his order and clears his throat.

"Hi," he says, biting his lips, "sorry to bother you, but err, did you leave a message on my cup yesterday?"

The barista, tag reading  _Gideon_  in stocky black letters, frowns in confusion. "I wasn't working yesterday," he replies with a shrug, handing a cup to the woman waiting next to Edgar. Gideon's eyes roam over his face and the confusion clears, replaced with an odd smirk. "You must have met my brother, Fabian," he explains. "Between us, I'm clearly the more handsome one." He winks, and Edgar blushes.

"Ah… I see," Edgar replies awkwardly, even though he doesn't actually see anything.

"I can tell him off for you if it bothered you," Gideon offers.

Edgar's cheeks burn again and he busies himself by looking down at the counter. It is surprisingly clean for a coffee shop counter, he notes.

"Ah… It's fine. I mean, I didn't mind. I mean, he can…" he trails off, only too aware of the way he's only digging himself into deeper embarrassment.

He's very relieved when his order comes up soon after that. He very pointedly doesn't check his cup until he's sure no one can see him doing it, but he can feel Gideon's amused eyes following him anyway.

And sure enough, the cup only shows his name this time.

.

The next morning, the tag reads  _Fabian_. Edgar says hi, gets his order and leaves.

But as soon as he's outside, he hurries to check the cup for any new writing.

And there is something. It's another terrible line, but a different one. This one reads  _Aside from being sexy, what do you do for a living?_  and like last time, it puts a smile on his face.

On Friday, his cup reads  _Your shirt has to go, but you can stay._

Edgar looks down at his shirt, but there's nothing particularly bad about it. Granted, there also isn't anything  _great_  about it either.

The next Monday, Edgar gets  _Smile. It is the second best thing you can do with your lips._  That one makes him snort out his coffee through his nose, which hurts — even if it does wake him up.

He stares at Fabian pointedly as he scribbles his next line on the cup on Wednesday, and Fabian winks as he hands it to him.

This line is dirty enough to startle him into nearly dropping his drink.

"Problem?" Fabian asks him, brown eyes sparkling with mirth.

Edgar stares back pointedly, heart pounding in his chest. "Not at all," he says, giving Fabian his widest smile as he draws the cup to his chest.

On Thursday, Gideon is back in his brother's place. He pauses in his usual laidback demeanor long enough to smile creepily at Edgar, telling him, "I hope you know what you're doing," as he hands him his drink.

Somehow, Edgar gets the impression that Gideon would throw that hot drink right into his face if he didn't like Edgar's answer.

"I do," Edgar replies, and it's only mostly a lie.

Gideon sighs and scribbles something out onto a napkin with a tired, exasperated sigh.

He slides it forward, another bad line visible on it. "From Fabian," he explains.

Edgar snorts but tucks the napkin into his pocket carefully. "Thanks."

He's sick that weekend, unfortunately, so he can only return to  _The Gryffin's Corner_  on the next Monday. Surprisingly, he finds that he missed Fabian's terrible pick-up lines during that time. He's retraced the words on that napkin so many times the thing is now in pieces, and yet he can't find it in himself to get rid of it.

So even though he needs more sleep, he finds himself awake earlier than usual, too eager to get to his new favorite coffee shop to sleep.

_The Gryffin's Corner_  is empty when he gets there, but it's open. Fabian's head snaps up from the counter when Edgar enters, a wide smile breaking across his face.

"You weren't there last Friday," Fabian points out in a very steady voice as he starts preparing Edgar's order.

Edgar winces. "Yeah, sorry. I was sick all weekend — no coffee for me," he adds jokingly.

Fabian instantly looks relieved. "Oh," he says. "I'm glad you're feeling better then."

He has Edgar's order in one hand and a pen in the other, but he pauses. His eyes drift up to Edgar again, and he sets both down.

"You know," he starts, licking his lips softly. "I know where they give out free drinks.

Edgar huffs out a laugh. "Where?" he asks, playing along when it becomes clear that's what Fabian's waiting for.

"My house," Fabian replies, lips quirked up in a smirk. As usual, he winks as he gives Edgar his order, but this time, Edgar doesn't immediately leave.

Instead, he looks around the place — it's still empty, rather than the busy state he's more used to. His eyes drift back to the counter — it's still as clean as it was that first time he noticed it, but this time he's more interested in the napkins piled up in a corner.

"Can I borrow this?" he asks, nodding at Fabian's sharpie.

"Sure," the barista replies with a shrug.

Edgar accepts it with a thankful smile, and seconds later he slides both napkin and pen back toward him.

"What's this?" Fabian asks, holding up the napkin.

"My number," Edgar replies. "Call me?"

And this time, he's the one winking as he leaves.


End file.
